The Dismal Silhouette

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Single player map for Quake, using the Arcane Dimensions mod. Based on E2M6: The Dismal Oubliette, by John Romero.

AD v1.80+ required to play: https://www.moddb.com/mods/arcane-dimensions

Also requires a source port with increased limits and BSP2 support. Ironwail is recommended. Kex not supported.

Full installation instructions provided in the included readme.

Originally made for the abandoned RemakeQuake project back around 2010, but extensively rebuilt over the latter half of 2023.

Reviews, demos and streams all welcome and encouraged!
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Submitted by
~rj
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774
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2,705
Release date
Jan 11, 2024
First uploaded
Last update
Rating
4.79 star(s) 29 ratings
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Latest updates

  1. Minor fixes

    Fixed a badly configured elevator that was causing ogres to get stuck (@j4r), plus added...
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Latest reviews

Mazu
Great rework of e2m6. Scale being increased in a good way and not many backtracking issues except potentially at the cave section at the very beginning. And getting the secret required backtracking by design, but that is acceptable.

Challenging gameplay for AD which is hard to get right usually. Some of the enemies were used in hordes that really are not horde enemies(fury death knights), especially in such tight corridors.

Final area was really cool, probably my favorite AD combat setup I've seen so far. Super secret was neat too, but flashing lights warning for the red fog + dynamic lights combo when monsters were summoned. At least on my QS setup it felt like my eyes were melting.

Overall really nice experience. Detailing and quality of environments really are worth it to play this even with all minor issues in gameplay.
Skill
Hard
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alexUnder Ros
This one becomes one of my all time favourite maps ever created for Quake. It's real adventure, immersive, full of dangers and dark secrets. The map is damn impressive, really gorgeous. But also quite challenging & engaging. All in all this is true AD experience. 10/10


PS. I just finished playing 1997 Mexx episode "Penumbra of Domination" and Twilight super secret of this Dismal map now shines quite differently :) So if you like this Dismal map, then I recommend to play Mexx9
Skill
Normal
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Fairweather
This was surprisingly amazing. I wasn't expecting much going in, as these big AD remix maps rarely stick to me, but this was great. Amazing build quality, well thought out level design for being so complex and open, and a great reinterpretation of the original. Good stuff.
Skill
Hard
Upvote 1 Downvote
qwaz
This map is a blast! An absolute creepy, raining, stormy atmosphere in dank, dark castle. Loved every minute walking around this place!
Skill
Normal
Upvote 1 Downvote
Greenwood
Always great to see a veteran mapper roll out a new level! Rich has gone by different nicknames over the decades (Xen, XeNoN, RJ) & his experience shows. This is a massive map with clear progression, interesting secrets (including sections requiring a return & a special key combo location), and a polished atmosphere. An overall nicely done modern interpretation of E2M6!
Skill
Normal
Upvote 3 Downvote
jooch
In my opinion a good map is easy to memorize and brings the player back to certain area's. This map is a tribute to what already worked well in Quake and expands on that with Arcane Dimension characteristics.

The atmosphere is indeed very thick and i have to give credit for adding rain to the mix.

The cavern could have been reused a bit more in my opinion or some very desirable object placed there, we don't see it much after entering the castle.
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Z
+ remix of an original id1 map (i'm a sucker for these)
+ neat
mega secret side quest
that kept me playing
+ cutting the original elevator ride short
+ atmosphere & lighting work
+ Arcane Dimensions map

5/5 in my book.
Skill
Normal
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Immortal2563
AD maps are very rare. Most creators use Cooper mod, not AD. But when they do appear, they are beautiful and refined. This case is no different. A masterpiece in every respect.
Upvote 1 Downvote
L
I'm waiting for a new version of AD, remembering how I liked it from the beginning, playing ad_swampy, and later ad_sepulcher, and all the other wonderful maps on and on.

From time to time a new map is published, even though the focus may be more on Alkaline meanwhile.

This one is a real burner, not a remake, but an interpretation of the Obliette. Dark, gloomy, swampy.

First attempt: secrets 4/10, too few, of cause, but I was impatient. Second attempt: secrets 10/10, and the search for the western twilight key cost about one hour of lifetime, and was worth it.

Yes, no cobwebs here, but in my opinion Quake isn't perfect, never was, and never will be - at least I hope so. It's part of Quake's charm, that it needs my own imagination. And so the cobwegs will be always in my brains :)

Thank you so much for this.
Skill
Easy
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onetruepurple
An absolutely wonderful release, a full adventure in a single map. It brings me right back to June 2010 (good times when rmq wasn't yet in the total gutter).

Loved all the AD enhancements on what I still recognised to be the original plan. The "third" key threw me in for a loop, though, as I went for a goose chase for something that was right in plain sight.

I got 100% on my "first" try:

otp_e2m6_100.png

I also have a demo (Quakespasm): https://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/otp_e2m6rq.zip

Congratulations on getting this out - I think it's been several years since we last talked about it, and I'm really happy to finally see this out in the open. Even if modern mappers might turn their nose at the 24-sided curves ;-)
Skill
Hard
R
~rj
Great to hear from you dude! And thanks, yeah def a relief to have it out, was bugging me so much over the years that it was just lying there incomplete and all that work had been for nothing. Hoping to get my other e2 stuff done too for the same reasons. Thanks for the demo too, have grabbed and will def watch some point this week :-)
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